Have you ever felt like you’re waiting for your turn in life or your career?
Maybe you’ve seen the quote,
“Until it’s my turn, I’ll keep clapping for others.”
I’ve seen it countless times over the years and, if I’m honest, I’ve always liked it.
The reason I do is because at face value, it’s about kindness and not letting someone else’s success make you bitter. It’s about understanding that another person’s promotion, new relationship, dream holiday, thriving business or lucky break doesn’t somehow reduce the chances of good things happening in your own life.
And I think that’s important.
Life feels a lot lighter when you can genuinely be pleased for other people, but recently I’ve found myself thinking about that quote a little differently.
Why? Because, what if your turn doesn’t arrive when you expected it to?
What if you’ve been clapping for years?
What if you’ve watched people get the opportunities, recognition, jobs, relationships or confidence you’ve been quietly hoping for yourself?
What then?
I think that’s where the quote gets interesting.
Sometimes we’re clapping from a place of genuine happiness. We mean every bit of it. We know life isn’t a race and we trust that our path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.
But sometimes we’re clapping while carrying our own disappointment, we’re smiling for someone else while wondering why things feel so hard for us.
Sometimes we’re being supportive because we’re good people, but beneath that support sits the question:
“When is it going to be my turn?”
The truth is, I don’t think life always works in turns.
There isn’t a queue or someone at the front with a clipboard deciding who’s next.
Sometimes opportunities appear unexpectedly.
Sometimes they arrive disguised as something completely different from what we imagined.
And sometimes they’re created because someone decided they were tired of waiting and took a step forward instead.
What I love about the quote is the reminder to stay open-hearted.
What I don’t love is the idea that we should quietly sit in the audience indefinitely, applauding everyone else while our own dreams gather dust.
You can be happy for other people and still want more for yourself.
You can celebrate someone else’s success and still feel frustrated by where you are.
You can be grateful and ambitious.
Content and hopeful.
Supportive and ready for change.
Those things are not opposites.
So yes, clap for others.
Cheer them on.
Mean it.
But every now and then, put your hands back in your lap and ask yourself a different question.
Am I waiting for my turn…
or am I waiting for permission?
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